Reversible strut for railway brake beams



may a, 1923. v 7 1,454,063

1 l. MOELLER REVERSIBLESTRUT'FOR RAILWAY BRAKE BEAMS Filed July 17, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet].

[@MOELLER REVERSIBLE STRUT FOR RAILWAY BRAKE BEAMS May 8,1923. 1,454,063

Filed July 17, L922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i or to the left.

-- bottom of the strut., j

8-8, Figure 2. 1 Figure 9 is a sectional detail onthe l1ne Patented May 8, 11923.

i'sAT MQELLER, or nnw eLAsGow, nova soo rrA. oANAnA."

nnvnasrstns'rnnr on'nAiLwAY BRAKE BEAMS.

Appli c ation filed lulv 17, i922; Serial no. 575,740.

To all whom it may concern -Be it known that I IsAK lVlOELLER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at the city of New Glasgow, in the Province of Nova Scotia and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new anduseful I'mprovements in Reversible 'StrutsfOr Rail way Brake Beams, of which the .following is aspecification. a l This invention relates to improvements in reversible strut, for railway" car brake beams, and the'objects of the invention areto provide simple and effective means which will enable the strut to be adjusted "so that it may be angularly disposed on eithe'r side of the brake beam to thereby enable the strut to be used with levers slanted to the right Further objects of the. invention are to provide improvements inthe manner oi attachment between thevstrut and the; brake 'beamf Further objects still are generally to improve and simplify the construction of the device to enable the various parts to better perform the functions required of them.

struction hereinafter described in detail in the'faccompanyingspecification and draw,- ings. i In the drawings T Figure 1 is a s de elevation of an embodi ment of the invention, and the bra ke' fbeam Figure i'is a planet the connectingmei'n her in position on the brake beam. 5 Figure 5 isa plan viewshowing the end ofthe strut. f r

Figure 6 is an inverted tionfon the brake beam.

Figure 7 is an inverted plan showing the Figure 8 is a sectional detail on the line 9 9, Figure 8.

Figu

Figure 11 1s a se 1l11, Figure 2.

It consists essentially of the improveclcon f plan 1 sho ingat'lh underside of the connecting member in posire 10 is a sectional detail on the line 10-10, Figure 2.

ctional detailon the line Figure12 is a perspective Idetail'showing the'head of thestrut; H j, In the drawings, like charactersflof refer-i ence indicate corresponding zpartsinallthe figures.

Referring to the drawings 12' A indicates the -'compression. 'member on the brake beam, of usual' channel form,'. and

B the tension rodsQalso of'usual form and-at tached 1n. the usual way to theends of the compression member,which ends also, carry the usual brake. heads C; ID. indicates strut in the' centre, exten'dingabetweenjthe P compression and tensioning. members, and

E the connecting: member by r which the head of the strut is connectedtoa'nd held in p'osi-i tion on the compression member. I I The strut D may be madeofmalleable iron,- cast" steel or possibly of pressed steel or tubing. Iti-s tubularwin torm having la .ta-

pered neck 10 at the upper end and asquared body portion -11 having a. transverse" slot '12 for the brakelever, thesides being formed with suitable perforationsfl3 to receive 'the pivot pin of the lever. Thelower end ofgthe strut D is formed with cross-grooves or' notches ltand 15set atza'n angle of'forty' degrees toeach. other and'in'which the tene f sioni'rodB is designed to, fit. The rod fitting in one notch of the lever is slanted to the left of centre and inthejother notch when it is slanted to" the rightnot centre rectangular in cross; section and thefinner The connecting .memben E 'exte'ndsflcoin 1 pletelyaround and is slidablymountedi'upon the. icompressionw-member A. :It is ithus1:90

corners" are preferably recessed as-at16to obtain a perfectly clean corner 0 without the expenseof machining. j j

The upper'endofIthestrut-D is formed -with key head :17 designed "tofzextenjd through.a'ikey;.socketil8iin'theconnecting nf casting member As shown "in Figure fi the socket is circular in form havingdiametri- '1100 pp e pairs ofrecesses 19 designed to receive projections or tongues 20011 the end of'the strut, the relative position of', j

the tongues and.recesses 19 beingsuch that. x r I i the head will be locked in the'connecting member E when either of. the grooves. 14' or. 1 5,,is engagement with. the tension.

member B;

' The end of the strut is further held: in; position by means of a projection 21,011 the}. under sideofthe cornpresslon member A which may b formed by pressure from the opposite side, which projection is designed to fit a cored hole 22 in the end of the strut D.

The lower edge of the connecting, member may be conveniently provided with reinforcing flanges 23 while the weight of the sides be reduced by openings 24 formed therein. 7

The apertures 13 may be formed on the inner side with sleeves 25 designed to embrace and give support to the pivot pin of the lever.

In assembling the brake beam with the present invention, the connecting member E is first applied on the compression member A. The head 17 of the strut D will then be entered into the socket 18 and turned to the degree desired. The tension rod will then be applied along with the usual bolts. nuts, etc, and tightened up in the usual way. The strut, having the double grooves 14 and 15 on the ends, will enable it to be placed in either right or left hand position and if by chance, the beam should be made up incorrectly, the only thing that has to be done is to loosen the nuts on the end and turn to the other position. When the ten sion member is tightened up, the strut beam will be firmly held in position not only by the connecting member, but also by the en gagement between the projection 21 and the recess or opening 22.

As many changes could be made in the I above construction and many widely ditferent embodiments of my invention with-. in the scope of the claims, constructed with? out departing from the-spirit or scopethereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification and drawings' shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my. invention is 1. A reversible strut for brake beamscomprising" a strut having cross grooves at one end-designed to fit over a tension member and a key head at the opposite end to the connecting member adapted to be slidably mounted, the compression member having a socket to receive the key head and means for retaining the connecting member in longitudinal adjusted position on the compression member.

2. A brake beam comprising a compression' member, a tension member, a strut extending centrally between the compression and tension member, the said strut having means to engage the tension member in either of two angularly adjusted positions having interlocking means at the opposite end, a connecting member slidably mounted on the compression member having means to interlock with the interlocking means on the head of the said strut and means for retaining the connecting member in longitudinal adjusted position on the brake beam.

3. A brake beam comprising a compression member, a tension member, a strut extending centrally between the compression and tension member, the said. strut having means to engage the tension member in either of two angular-1y adjusted positions having interlocking means at the opposite end, a connecting memberslidably mounted on the compression member having means to interlock with the interlocking means on the head of the said strut and means for re;- taining the connecting member in longitudinal adjusted position on the brake beam, the said means comprising-a projection on the brake beam adapted to engage asu-itable recess in the end of the strut.

4:. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which the connecting member is of rectangular cross section and formed with. reinforcing flanges on the underside. n I

5. The device as claimed inclaim 1 in which the connecting member is rectangular in form extending completely around the compression'member and formed with apertures in the side designed to reduce the weight thereof.

6. The device as claimed in claim 2 in which the compressionmember is of channel form and the connecting member is formed on the underside with recessed portions opposite the corners of the said channel member.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which the head of the strutis formed with diametrically opposite pairs of tongues designed to .fit suitable recesses in the socket formed in the connecting member.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

ISAK MOELDER.

Witnesses:

MINNIE G. Ron, R. DOUGLAS GRAHAM. 

